Course description
A short course taught in London by the Bloomsbury Centre for Genetic Epidemiology and Statistics, a joint centre of LSHTM, UCL and Birkbeck.
3 - 6 September 2013
Applicants for this course may also be interested in our companion course:
High Throughput Sequencing in Disease Studies
The Course
Genetic epidemiology holds great potential for personalised medicine and improved biological knowledge of disease processes. This course provides an introduction to the design, analysis and interpretation of genetic studies of disease, with a focus on state of the art analysis of genomewide association scans. The course is 4 days long. On days 1 and 2 basic, basic genetics will be introduced and relevant statistical methods for linkage and association analysis will be described. Days 3 and 4 will cover the design and analysis of genomewide association scans, including emerging applications to risk prediction and biological pathway analysis. Throughout the course participants will gain practical experience of analysing genetic data in population and family studies. By the end of the course participants will have an understanding of the fundamental concepts of genetic epidemiology, will have a working knowledge of the terminology and current status of the field, and will be able to perform many basic analyses of genetic data. This course is followed by the companion course “High throughput sequencing in disease studies”
Course Organiser Profiles
David Balding
Frank Dudbridge
Who should apply?
Participants are expected to be epidemiologists, clinicians, applied statisticians or biologists with an interest in becoming familiar with, or working in, genetic epidemiology. A basic knowledge of statistics is required, including familiarity with hypothesis testing and estimation. Experience with a statistical computing package such as R is required for this course: a basic introduction to R will be provided on day 1, but this will not be adequate for those with no experience of R or of programming in a statistical package such as Stata or a programming language such as C.
Teaching Methods and Course Materials
The course consists of alternating lectures and computer practical sessions. Comprehensive course notes will be provided at the start of the course. Computer practicals will use the R package, which is freely available with documentation at
Course Content
Introduction to Genetic Epidemiology
- Basic genetics, genetic markers, sequencing technology
- Basic population genetics
- Segregation and linkage analysis
- Association analysis in populations and families
Genomewide association scans (GWAS)
- Rationale and design of GWAS
- Association analysis, quality control and population stratification
- Multiplicity, replication and meta-analysis
- Emerging trends including pathway analysis and risk prediction
Methods of Assessment
There is no formal assessment but a certificate of attendance will be provided.
Course Fee Structure
The cost of the course is £900 for external applicants and £700 for internal participants (students / employees of LSHTM, UCL & Birkbeck).
The fee covers participation in the course, materials, lunch and refreshments on each day of the course and an evening reception on the final day, but does not cover travel costs, accommodation or evening meals.
How to Apply
Please complete theOnline Application Form